


Boundless

by keepleaves



Series: Iwatobi Fables [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Future Fish, But they're all third person, How is it that I can't tag Kou by her actual name but I can tag her with Gou...that is a travesty..., Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Rin and Kou are mermaids too but just roll with it, Slice of Life, Sort Of, multiple POVs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-06-09 15:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15270492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepleaves/pseuds/keepleaves
Summary: Makoto finds him on the beach, barely breathing and still soaking wet. The top half is human, bloody, but human. The bottom half— the fish half— doesn't look much better. Makoto reaches out to find a pulse and nearly jumps when he feels fingers curling around his own.When a badly-injured merman Haruka washes up on the shore, he's saved by a human. Haru has no interest in associating with humans, but he'll have to learn to trust Makoto until he recovers. The way back comes at a price....





	1. Haruka

_Tell me your fable..._

_Talk to me, tenderly_

_Show reality fantasy_

_We're bound together_

_All within one feat_

_\- Fable, Robert Miles_

"This is stupid. I should have told you no."

"You're stupid!"

"You just want to go flirt with a human—“

"And? Is there a problem with that?”

"Yes. Humans are disgusting—"

"Sousuke is not," Rin says with a scowl on his face. "The rest of his squad are. They were looking at Kou weird—"

"Speaking of which, why did you even take Kou with you? She's not allowed to go up to the surface until she's eighteen. Why didn't you just leave her at home?"

"Haru!" Kou has a scowl far too similar on her face for her and her brother, Rin, not to be related. "I'm not a child, I can do what I want to! It’s not like I haven’t snuck up there. Besides, the humans have more muscles than us! Like, instead of their fins, they have these wonderful, shapely legs and oh..." She trails off, already fantasizing.

Haruka, to his credit, doesn't even blink. "Okay, but if you can handle yourself, then why am I coming?" Haruka wills the nervousness away. He hasn't been to the surface since he turned eighteen, and it hadn't been special. The water had always been his home. The legends his grandma would tell him served as a punishment as he was growing up. Haruka knows what kind of dangers humans pose to his kind, the merfolk.

"Listen for once in your life. They keep making these weird faces at Kou. I don't like it."

Kou tangles her fingers into her hair, a trail of dark red shimmering at the disruption behind her. "It's not my fault."

"Humans can't hear us if we talk." Haruka hasn't stopped swimming next to them. As they begin their ascent, the sun glimmers off his tail, a bright blue that matches his eyes. "Why are you even bothering?"

"Because, Haru," Rin says, sounding infuriatingly like he's talking to a fry, "This human is different. He loves me. And he's a very important man!"

Haruka just sighs.

"He's a police officer," Rin continues, "Which means that he takes all the bad humans and puts them away!"

"They need someone to do that?" Haruka asks, frowning. "See, I told you, there's no use in even associating with humans in the first place. If they need one human to tell other humans they're bad and put them away, what good are humans at all?"

"We're half human!" Rin retorts. "The other half isn't, but at least we have half in common with them!"

"Not with me and Kou, you don't. That's because your father was a shark."

"Shut up!"

Haruka can see Rin running a tongue over his sharp teeth through his closed lips and smirks. He's hit Rin where he's the most self-conscious. Kou rolls her eyes are their bickering.

"If I see something even remotely dangerous, I'm leaving,” Haru says. They're hovering by the surface now, about to break through. Haruka looks at both Kou and Rin, nodding at them each.

"Right." Rin sobers up, giving him a solemn nod back. "If something does happen, take Kou with you. That should be our first priority. Kou, do you understand? If something happens, swim straight home."

"Yeah." Kou reaches out to hold both their hands, forming a semi-circle so that all three of them are facing each other. "But nothing's going to happen. We'll be fine. Are you guys ready?"

"Let's go!" Rin hoots, and pulls them all to the surface, where the sun is too blinding for Haruka's liking.

* * *

They swim together towards the docks, where there's already a man in dark clothes waiting. Haruka steals a glance at Rin, and raises his eyebrows. He's never seen Rin like this before. The smile is so gentle, so loving, that Haruka is hard-pressed to believe that the person next to him is the same person who has been his friend since he was young.

"It's good to see you again." Sousuke's voice is too deep. Haruka doesn't like it. Taking the dark glasses away from his face, Sousuke kneels down, his badge reflecting into Haruka's eyes. Rin leans up to place a soft kiss on his cheek. Looking faintly surprised, Sousuke nods at Kou. "Kou, you came today. Welcome back. Who's your friend?" He looks directly at Haruka, who turns his head to avert his gaze. Rin frowns, gently turning Sousuke's face with a cupped hand to face him again. "So needy today!" Sousuke says, moving so his legs are hanging over the side of the dock. Rin starts off, pantomiming something Haruka doesn't understand. Somehow, the human seems to, and he lets out a low laugh. "And how did that go?"

Haruka throws a confused look at Kou, who shrugs at him and puts both her thumbs and forefingers together. It's love, she's trying to tell him, and Haru flicks his tail at her in annoyance. There's no way. She shrugs again, returning to looking past him at some beach goers in the distance.

Haruka fidgets uncomfortably. The nervousness he had been ignoring is welling up again. If a human saw them… well. The stories his grandmother would tell him were passed down from generation to generation. Their interactions with humans were forbidden long ago by the Gods, who took away their voices above water as punishment for luring humans to their death. The humans had retaliated by nearly killing off mermaids. As a result, they scattered all around the world for safety, learning enough about the human world to survive. Especially in their part of the ocean. Haruka had learned from his grandmother that the East Oceans were well famed for their knowledge in human markings. He, Rin, and Kou were privileged enough how to read. It kept them away from dangerous waste humans dumped into their water.

There were other legends; stories about magic that had lost their relevancy to time. Magic that only the elders of his elders possessed knowledge of. Though, as rumor has it, his grandmother knew some of those secrets...

Lost in thought, Haruka fails to notice a loud, buzzing noise getting louder by the second. Sousuke stands up abruptly, squinting into the sun.

"Rin, go!! There’s a boat! Hurry! Get out of here!" Sousuke says, voice etched with panic.

Rin twists around, gasping at the boat that's rapidly approaching. Grabbing Kou's hand, he dives, and Haruka follows.

"Get Kou out of here!" Haruka is trailing behind them. "Swim!"

"What does it look like I'm trying to do?!" Rin screeches, still dragging Kou behind him, who is struggling to keep up.

"Focus!" Haruka is doing his best to hover above Kou— if the humans try to hurt them, he was at least strong enough to pull out whatever hooks or spears they might sink into him.

"It's too narrow here! We're going to have to swim under!" Rin dives, but there isn't much more room for him to go lower.

Haruka, with a sinking stomach, realizes that the boat is on a direct path towards them. There's barely any room to pass around it or under it. It's going to be a tight squeeze.

"Don't look back!" Haruka dives, still above Kou, and squeezes his eyes shut.

He can hear himself scream as the boat tears into his shoulder and down his back, Haruka only has time to vaguely register how red his blood is before his world goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 1 part 1 of the Makoharu fairytales! In case you haven't guessed, you're currently looking at The Little Mermaid. The rest are Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Snow Queen, and Aladdin (which is basically just the backstory behind the Splash Free ED). 
> 
> I don't like posting things before they're done because I don't like keeping people waiting, but I've been working on this for almost 3 years because I am sloooow and I got super excited about the new season so LEGGO
> 
> As always, any thoughts, comments, or mistakes that you caught are completely appreciated. Reach me at keepleaves.tumblr.com if you want to chat.


	2. Makoto

_There you were, wild and free_

_Reaching out like you needed me_

_The helping hand to make it right_

_I am holding you all through the night_

_I'll be the one, I'll be the one_

_Who will make all your sorrows undone_

_I'll be the light, I'll be the light_

_When you feel like there's nowhere to run_

_\- The One, Brian Littrell_

 

Makoto finds him on the beach, barely breathing and still soaking wet. There's no way, Makoto thinks, kneeling down to examine what's in front of him. He thought the blue glint was a trick of the light, or maybe a toy someone had left on the beach, but he reaches out to confirm. His eyes hadn't been deceiving him. It's a fishtail. Attached to a human top of a boy where legs should be.

The top half is bloodied across his chest and shoulders, and Makoto can see blood seeping through under the black hair leaking down and staining the sand an ugly shade of red, but the top half is indeed human. The bottom half— the fish half— doesn't look much better. There are lacerations up and down his tail, though the fin looks mostly undamaged. Makoto reaches out to find a pulse on the boy's wrist and nearly jumps when he feels fingers curling around his own. The boy's eyes open, and a startling shade of blue meets Makoto's green eyes for a short moment before the boy falls unconscious again.

 

* * *

 

 "Hello," Makoto says softly, when the boy wakes up again. He was beginning to get sore, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, but he didn't want to leave the boy's side until he woke up again. The boy looks around, panicked, and reaches to pull himself out of the water, and Makoto has to hold him back.

"Stop! Please!" Makoto struggles to hold the boy down, getting soaked in the process. "I'm not going to hurt you, and— oh—" He realizes that there's a pink stain blooming across his white shirt. Makoto looks down, and almost at the same time, the boy stops struggling, clutching at the open wounds, barely held together with Makoto's impromptu suturing. He glares up at Makoto and tries to push him away, much more weakly this time, and Makoto puts his hands up in surrender.

"Please," he tries again. "I won't hurt you. I'm here to help. My name is Makoto Tachibana. I found you on the beach, and you were bleeding, so I brought you back to my house. I'm not going to hurt you," he repeats.

The boy just glares at him, breathing hard, and Makoto can see blood dripping through his fingers. Makoto doesn't think he notices the terrible crosses over his skin that Makoto tried in an attempt to fix his broken skin and the rest of the lacerations on his human half. The blood has well soaked through the gauze, already falling apart in the water and leaving little bits of cotton floating everywhere.They don't take their eyes off each other as Makoto slowly gets up and crosses the bathroom, clumsily feeling for a towel on the rack before approaching again, making sure to stand farther away this time. He holds it out, and the boy visibly flinches and looks away.

"Here," Makoto says quietly.

The boy turns his head to look at Makoto, his face weary. Makoto points at the towel, then points at his own shoulder. The boy’s weary expression doesn't change as he snatches the towel from Makoto's hands and looks at it, and Makoto can see the taut muscles in his shoulders and arms as the boy examines the towel more thoroughly, looking underneath it, squeezing it, before finally dabbing it gently on his shoulder. He flinches again, but not so violently this time.

"Okay," Makoto lets out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He reaches up and brushes his olive hair out of his face, bangs flopping uselessly back into place. Since becoming a firefighter, he was required to be able to quite literally lift parts of buildings up and hold onto a hose spouting out thousands of gallons of water per second. But no matter how strong he was, it had been exhausting carrying someone who was composed of what Makoto suspects is mostly muscle from the beach to his house. Granted, Makoto considers, it was a house on outskirts of his town, closer to the beach, so it could have been a much longer trip.

He forces himself to take another breath, and feels his shoulders unkink themselves as he watches the boy dab at his wounds until the towel is stained through and the bleeding has mostly stopped.

"Could I help—" He reaches up for the shower head and the boy's hand shot out to grip the edges of the tub again. This time, though, Makoto ignores him and turns on the water, letting it fall down from where it's hanging on the wall. The boy stops suddenly, blinking a few times and tilting his head up so the water rains directly down on his face, his mouth open. Like a fish, Makoto thinks, suppressing a giggle. He brings the shower head down for him, who allows Makoto to finally gently reach to the nape of his neck and rinse out the blood and grime there.

"There, see," Makoto says soothingly. The boy has his eyes closed, and he at least seems to be finally relaxing, if not enjoying himself. Makoto pumps some shampoo into his hand and gently scrubs the boy’s hair, undoing the knots and massaging the through the dirt with the helo of the shampoo. He watches the water run black as the dirt is washed out with the bubbles. The boy relaxes into his touch with a deep sigh. Ocean Star is what he recalls the scent of his shampoo to be, but he imagines that it smells nothing like the merman has seen in the sea. Makoto finds another towel and places it over the boy's head, being careful to dry his hair around the wound. The gash isn't bad, but Makoto doesn’t know how fast it will heal. Now that the wounds are clean, maybe he can help clean the rest of the merman.

"How do you feel?" The boy looks at him and opens his mouth again, but this time, only air comes out.

"Can't talk? Does it hurt?" Makoto is tempted to reach out and touch his throat, but he knows how threatening it would look if he tried. The boy shakes his head and tries again. And again, Makoto can only hear the sound of air, almost like a sigh.

"I suppose that's a no, then...ah, can you write?" The boy pauses for a second, then nods, holding his hands out so they're barely touching.

"Just a little, then!" Makoto beams. They have a way to communicate, which will give them at least a way for the boy to tell him the important things.

"What's your name? Can you write it for me?"

The boy gently takes Makoto's hand, and he gasps, surprised at the contact. Tracing with the water, he slowly spells out something on Makoto's palm that has to squint to make out.

"Ha…ru…ka...? Haruka! Is that right?"

Haruka smiles, and Makoto feels a surge of childish delight.

"Haruka." He spells it out again on the side of the tub, tracing the name with a wet finger. "What about just Haru?" he wipes away the rest of the letters, and Haruka gives him a noncommittal shrug. "Haru-chan?" He adds the honorific at the end with his finger, and looks over at Haru, who is now scowling.

With the flip of his fin, Haru splashes away the chan, also managing to hit Makoto with a faceful of water. Laughing, Makoto runs his hands through his hair, making it stand on end.

"I deserved that, didn't I?" he asks, cheerily. Haru nods, and Makoto laughs even harder at the pout on his face.

Haru-chan. Haruka. Haru. Whatever he wants to be called, Makoto will be happy to oblige. He's just glad he's finally seen the merman smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good for you if you know where the opening lyrics come from :)
> 
> Yikes, I don't remember this chapter being so short, oops. I'll post another one up soon to make up for this one. Butttt this whole story will come out a lot slower than I anticipated. I'm sorry! I have half of them written but like I mentioned before, I don't like posting before things are finished...also, Dive into the Future is killing all my hopes and dreams, as well as my motivation to write. Send help. :(
> 
> As always, any thoughts, comments, or mistakes that you caught are completely appreciated. Reach me at keepleaves.tumblr.com if you want to chat.


	3. Haruka

_ From the day we met _

_ You lit up my world with your smile _

_ Your every word made me feel at ease somehow _

_ I didn’t know then _

_ What all this might mean to me someday _

_ \-    Shin Hyesung, Same Thoughts _

Haruka hasn't met many humans. He still recalls the stories his grandma told him about the people on land, about how his people are hunted for their flesh to give humans immortality, how some mermaids sacrificed themselves taking on storms because humans were stupid enough to think that they were bad luck, how mermaids had their voices stripped from them around humans because the Gods were upset at their retaliation. Everything his kind had endured was because of humans.

Humans, Haruka knows, are evil.

So why, he wonders, is this human taking care of him? Was he too stupid to know about the legends? Haruka wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. This human— Makoto, as he insists on being called— has been surprisingly gentle. Haruka's wounds have been turning a dark brown instead of the bright red of exposed flesh underneath, thanks to Makoto's care. Makoto had gently been applying something to his wounds, and Haruka had almost slapped him away from the pain it had brought. Whatever it was though, he had to admit that it was helping him. But maybe he hadn't given the human enough credit. Maybe the human understood, but wanted him to be in good condition before flaying him apart and roasting him. Over fire? Haruka remembers watching a red, molten liquid leaking out of a mountain, nearly burning him when he swam too close. His skin had turned pink, and his grandma had tutted at him, chastising him for being careless. If only she could see him now...

Haruka looks around, feeling more lonely than ever. The sea is calling to him, like the moon pulling at the tides, and he aches with a need to be outside. He runs his hands over the porcelain wall. It's feels odd, all slick and smooth rather than the rough pumice he's used to.  There's light coming from a window above him, and he reaches his hands towards it, only to be stopped by something. His eyes narrow, and he pushes at it again, but it resists. Sea glass. Haruka is familiar with sea glass, but like the rest of the room, it feels unnaturally warped by humans, and worst of all, it's keeping him inside. He pushes at it again, slamming his palms against it. There's not a lot of force behind it, and Haruka ignores the pain spreading down his shoulder and back. He punches it again, trying to put more force behind it, to no avail. Finally, he notices a latch, just out of his reach. Haruka tries to lean up to reach it, his fingers just ghosting the bottom of the lock. Haruka takes a deep breath and tries to hoist himself out of the tub, but the pain is too much to bear, and his arm buckles as he falls back into the tub with a splash.

"Haru-chan!" The noise alerts Makoto, who comes running into the bathroom. "Haru, are you okay?" Haruka looks up at him reproachfully, his eyes peering up at Makoto over the top of the water. 

"What on earth were you trying to do?" Haruka's eyes flicker upwards, and Makoto looks up. "The window? You want it open?" Leaning over, Makoto slides it open, and Haruka can smell the salt from the sea. Haruka reaches for the window, and his fingers pass through it this time. 

"Just ask me if you want anything, Haru-chan," Makoto says gently, sitting down at the edge of the tub. "I know you want to go home, but you're still hurt...Oh! I almost forgot, I should change your water out, shouldn't I?" Haruka barely nods, still staring up at the sky through the window with his eyes closed, enjoying the sun. At least he has access to something natural in this godforsaken prison. He can feel the water draw away from his body and spiraling down the drain. Makoto never puts enough salt into the water. It's never enough to match the sea.

"I bought more salt," Makoto says, cheerily. "Can I leave it here for you? I know you don't think it's salty enough." Haruka opens one eye to look at Makoto. The human, once again, has proven himself far kinder than he could have imagined. "I'll fill it up with the spray. You like that, right?" Haruka closes both his eyes again, smiling. 

"I thought so." Makoto reaches up for the nozzle, switching the water to as cold as it can get before taking care to spray down Haruka's fins. Haruka shivers, taking a deep sigh. If there's one thing he does appreciate about the artificial human world, it's that luxury and comfort seem to be very easy to access. He flips over on his back, letting the spray massage his back. Haruka hears Makoto stifle a giggle before bringing the nozzle closer, and he swears that the pressure is helping his wounds heal faster. As Makoto puts it away, Haruka grabs the bag of salt chunks and tosses it into the water, following with his fingers as they go floating to the bottom. 

"I got you smaller salt too," Makoto says, motioning to the other bag that had gone unnoticed. The finely grated salt has already leaked out on the floor, and Haruka pokes at it with his finger. This feels more familiar to him. Bless this human and his consideration. Or is it curse? Haruka doesn't know. Taking a handful, he drops it into the tub, and after a moment, takes another handful to rub into his own skin and scales, knowing that, for sure, will help heal his wounds. He peeks at Makoto through slitted eyes and the warm smile on the human's face slowly seeps through his body, making him almost feel comfortable.

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the encouragement! A quick update this time because I'm going to update again within the next few days with a much longer chapter. Originally, the chapters were going to be two parts, Haru's and then Makoto's, but as I kept writing, the chapters kept getting longer (oops), so I had to split them up. Everything will get longer, I promise!
> 
> As always, any thoughts, comments, or mistakes that you caught are completely appreciated. Reach me at keepleaves.tumblr.com if you want to chat.


	4. Makoto

_And you, you got your armor on_

_But maybe all you need is someone to trust_

_Maybe all you need is someone_

_And I won't let you down, no I won't let you down_

_I won't let you down, my love_

_\- I won't let you down, Damian Kulash  
_

"I'm home," Makoto calls as he takes off his shoes at the entrance of his house. He's been calling out to an empty house for years, a habit well developed from all his years at home with his family. Normally, he would be greeted back with silence, but today when he strains his ears he can hear the gentle sloshing of water as Haruka responds to his voice. Still clutching his bag, he heads straight for the bathroom.

"Haru! I got a great idea today at work," Makoto say brightly. Haruka looks up from where he had been occupied with a toy dolphin (a toy from Makoto's youth that he can’t bring himself to throw out), blinking slowly. Makoto barely notices, humming as he throws towels into the sink and runs water onto them.

"I guess I should ask first," Makoto stops and turns around to look at Haru, who leans forward lazily, arms crossed over the edge of the tub and his chin on his wrists. "I figured you would be sore, so I thought maybe I could show you the rest of the house?" Haru's eyebrow goes up at that, and Makoto waves his hands in front of him. "Only if you want to!" he adds hastily. "I thought I could at least show you the living room? I brought food—" Makoto motions to the bag he's dropped at the door, "—and I know it must be uncomfortable with how small the tub is. Do you want to come eat with me out in the living room?"

A look of confusion passes over Haruka's face, and Makoto's smile falters. "Oh, right. You don't know what that is. Um...well, let's try it anyway. Is it okay if I...'' Makoto trails off, unsure, and before he realizes it he's already kneeling by the tub, hands hovering over the merman's body. Haruka hesitates for just a moment before reaching out and grasping Makoto's hand to sit himself more upright. Makoto carefully hooks his arm under Haruka's tail and behind his back, and almost automatically, Haruka's arms circle around his neck. Makoto ignores the almost painful tightness of Haru's grip and slowly brings him out into the living room, gently setting him down on a cushion on the floor. Haruka looks around for a moment before opting to lay down on his side, tail thumping against the floor as he tries to find a comfortable position. Makoto lets him settle before running back into the bathroom to fetch the forgotten bag on the floor and the still wet towels in the sink, laying them onto Haruka's tail. "So you don't dry out," he explains.

Sitting with his knees tucked under the table, Makoto begins to rifle through his plastic bag. "I thought you might be hungry, so I stopped at the store on the way from work and picked up some things," Makoto says. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, but maybe we could try this first?" He pulls out a small, round container and unscrews the top. Haruka sits up, holding his hands out to accept the tiny packet and peels back the protective foil, curious. His black eyebrows knit together as he brings it to his face and sniffs it, wrinkling his nose. "It's fish food..." Makoto trails off as he watches Haru tentatively place a wet finger into the flakes. He gently dabs his fingers onto his tongue, and Makoto looks horrified as Haruka's eyes grow wide and he promptly spits the food out.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Makoto cries out, but Haruka isn't listening; he's still gagging on the taste, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. Makoto reaches into the bag and uncaps another bottle, thrusting it at Haruka, who pushes it back at Makoto. "It's just water!" Exasperated, Makoto pantomimes bringing the bottle to his lips. "See? You just drink it like this..." Haruka is still glaring at Makoto as he takes the bottle, taking a sip slowly, as if he's readying himself to do another spit take. A slow, deliberate moment passes, and Makoto can see the bob of Haruka's Adam's apple when he swallows.

"Not fish food. Okay then," says Makoto, reaching into the bag again. "How about this? Mackerel? I don't know if there's another word for it where...in the ocean..." he's still figuring out how to phrase his words as he opens the container, setting it down on Haru's side of the table before reaching for chopsticks. He holds them out as an offer to Haruka, who takes them into his fist, turning his hand over. He raises his hand over his head, ready to stab the fish on the tray, when Makoto lets out a small shriek and grabs his wrist. "Wait! Ahh...I should have known you wouldn't know how to use these...sorry, Haru," he says, gently plucking the chopsticks from Haruka's hand. Holding them up to his face, he makes sure Haru is watching before slowly peeling them apart. Haruka's surprise flashes on his face. His eyes deliberately study Makoto's hands as he places them properly, picking up a small piece and bringing it to Haru's lips. Haru accepts the fish, still weary from the fish food, Makoto can tell. After a long moment, he finally nods, smiling, and Makoto can't help but mirror him, a wide grin spreading over his face. "Well, at least I got one thing right today!" He says, feeling significantly cheered.

Haruka reaches tries to take the chopsticks, clumsily trying to position them between his fingers, mimicking Makoto the best he can. "It's hard," Makoto says, reaching over and tangling his fingers into Haruka's to rearrange them. Once he's finished, his touch lingers there for a moment, and he looks up at Haruka, who's watching him with those piercing blue eyes. Makoto feels like he's swallowing an ice cube; he can feel a shock run down his neck, accumulating as a lump in his throat so he can't breathe. He can feel the blush gathering on his face. Slowly, he lets go of Haruka's hand, looking away to cover up his blush. Haruka is either too engrossed in figuring out his chopsticks still, or politely looking away. There's a faint pink glow on the merman's face, too, but Makoto doesn't dare assume it's the latter

"He's just happy because you're feeding him. You're imagining things," He chides himself. The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, his mind reminds him in a snide voice, but Makoto ignores it in favor of watching Haruka successfully pick up a piece of fish. "You're a fast learner," he says simply when Haruka looks up at him with a proud smile. He can't help himself, the silly grin and damned blush returning, but he doesn't bother fighting it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boo. I'm home sick today, and i'm watching spooky things and home alone because I make bad life choices. Speaking of bad life choices, I didn't finish watching season 3 of Free. The lack of MH made me sad, so I'm going to live in my Fairytale AU land.
> 
> As always, any thoughts, comments, or mistakes that you caught are completely appreciated. Reach me at keepleaves.tumblr.com if you want to chat.


	5. Haruka

_Take me to your heart, take me to your soul_

_Give me your hand before I'm old_

_Show me what love is - haven't got a clue_

_Show me that wonders can be true_

_They say nothing lasts forever_

_We're only here today_

_Love is now or never_

_Bring me far away_

_Take me to your heart, take me to your soul_

_Give me your hand and hold me_

_Show me what love is, be my guiding star_

_It's easy, take me to your heart_

_\- Take Me to Your Heart, Johan Bejerholm_

When Haru wakes, the water is cold.

Not as cold as his sea, is his first bitter thought. The muscles in his neck clench painfully as he sits up, and his tail swishes around, unable to find purchase in the slick tub. He tries to hoist himself out of the tub, but a pain that makes him nauseous shoots through his shoulder, and he lands back onto the hard porcelain, the water sloshing out of the sides. He wants to scream, he really does, but all that comes out is a long wheeze of air. Haru exhales, sinking to the bottom of the tub, trying his best to will the pain away. Gingerly, he reaches up to touch the cut on his shoulder. The heat radiating off his palm helps, but only just. The bubbles escape from his mouth as he surfaces, and Haru shakes his dark hair out of his eyes.

He's never really had a sense of home. The living things in the seas move to adapt. People came and went with the seasons. Attachments were more cyclic, and sometimes people didn't come back. It was the circle of life. Haru understood. Even his grandma, his only blood relation, often traveled to different regions as the eldest of his people. "Missing" wasn't a part of his vocabulary then, but now, he could feel the pull of the sea calling to him as if he were the moon itself.

So even through the pain, he has to try.

Haru braces himself again, one, two three— and ignores the white dots behind his clenched eyes as he swings his hips over the edge of the top and promptly topples onto the hard floor fin first.

He's not sure how he'd forgotten that nothing floats on land, but he's paying the price for it now. The view's no different from the floor, Haru thinks, dazed. The tiles are much cooler than the water in the tub, and thankfully, none of his wounds have opened up again. The only thing really hurt was his pride. Haru takes a deep breath and flips over, and begins his crawl towards the light outside.

By the time he gets into the hall, the water has slid off his body and he can feel the squeaking friction reverberating down his spine. It's a long a slow process. There are so many entrances, Haru isn't sure where to start looking. He lifts his body up from his arms, and a glimmer of silver makes him freeze. Sitting in the room are slick boxes that remind him of the boats that used to come through reef, leaving grime and destruction in their wake. Haru doesn't understand what they're for, and even more so, why Makoto has boat parts in his house. Because he lived by the water? Did all humans who lived by the water have a boat? Humans were useless. Haru's resolve steels itself. He needs to get out of this place right now. There's another entry way—  Haru painstakingly crawls over towards the light.

He's guessing he's stumbled into Makoto's personal quarters. The room itself is warm, though Haru privately admits to himself that it might not just be the sunlight. Though he can see the sky, there's a small wall blocking his view of the ocean. Haru reaches up to pull himself up onto the bed to get a better vantage point, mussing with the neatly made sheets. His tail kicks up some dust from underneath the bed, making him sneeze. How annoying. He reaches down to brush the lint away when he spots out of the corner of his eye. Something a deep red color that reminds him of the oldest corals of the sea. He reaches for it, sneezing again as his fingertips scrape its sides, stirring up more dust. A small voice in the back of his head reminds him that he should be finding a way out of the house, and not only that, he shouldn't be snooping through someone else's stuff. Better to know your enemy, he rationalizes, as the book opens.

Photographs. Haru realizes. Things his people had been warned against when avoiding humans. Though these photos don't look like they have any kind of malicious intent behind them. They're photos of Makoto. He blinks, flipping back to the beginning of the book. There's a picture of Makoto with what looks like smaller versions of himself. They must be his siblings. Makoto looks so small, and yet, both of his siblings are hanging on his arms, their feet off the ground. He must spoil them, Haru thinks fondly, which only reminds him of Rin and Kou.

He thumbs through other pages. There are people he doesn't know, but he can only guess their relations to Makoto through similarities: his mother, his father, his friends. Haru finds one of Makoto with a small blond boy and a boy with red glasses, all three of them linked arm in arm. His eyes narrow. There's another picture of Makoto with someone clinging to his waist, someone with garish pink hair that reminds him of the ugly reefs too close to land. The way the boy is looking at Makoto is not one that Haru likes. Not that he should care. Haru pushes the mixed feelings welling up. He can already feel the anxiety of avoiding humans and the gratefulness he feels towards Makoto. He flips to the next page to distract himself, then narrows his eyes again. There's a picture of Rin's boyfriend in Makoto's arms, the both of them laughing. It was obviously a candid photo. The ugly feelings of possessiveness rise up again, only to be replaced with panic when he hears Makoto enter the house.

"I'm home!"

Haru's eyes widen back open and he looks up. His brain is telling him to put the book back— what an invasion of privacy, will Makoto hurt him? Will he reveal him to the public?— but he can't move. The sheer panic sets in when—

"Haru-chan?" He can see Makoto's black and yellow coat around the bend of the entrance to the bathroom. "Haru-chan!" Makoto's voice is slightly higher pitched, and he runs past the room before skidding to a stop. "Haru-chan!" Makoto says, smiling, and Haru almost flinches with the expectation of punishment. "There you are! Are you okay? I didn't see you in the tub so I thought something bad had happ— what's that?" Haru glances down, tempted to throw the book across the room, when Makoto comes over and gently plucks the book out of his hand. Haru leans away from him, apprehensive, as Makoto peruses through the book. "I haven't looked at this in forever. Want me to explain?" Haru hesitates, then nods. This is not at all what he had expected.

"This is my family page...this is my mom, dad, my siblings..." So Haru had been correct. He leans in, flipping to the page with Rin's boyfriend and jabbing a finger at his face. "Huh? Sousuke?" Makoto looks at him, and Haru looks up at Makoto and nods. "He's a friend of a friend. We ended up working in um...law...enforcement? I don't really know how to explain it. He catches people doing bad things, and I help them. Does that make sense?" Haru shrugs with a noncommittal response. He relaxes as Makoto flips through the rest of the book, explaining about his friends from high school, Rei and Nagisa, and about his friends at the Precinct and at the Fire Station. "And this, this is Kisumi!" Haru can feel the wrinkles in his forehead. It's the ugly coral haired boy. Kisumi and Makoto are sitting comfortably, Makoto's arms around Kisumi and Kisumi's head in the crook of Makoto's neck. For a second, he wonders what it would be like to be that close to Makoto, and out of instinct, he looks up at Makoto, realizing that his head is almost in the same position as Kisumi's. He sits up hastily, reaching up to fix his hair like nothing had happened. Makoto looks at him.

"I'm sorry, Haru," Makoto says softly, and Haru starts. Sorry for what? "I should have left something for you to do while I'm gone. I'm sorry. I know it feels like you're trapped here— " Haru feels his heart speed up, how had Makoto read him so easily? — "but I promise you, you're not. I just want you to feel better before you go back. I'll find something for you, okay?" Makoto smiles, and despite everything, Haru feels himself smiling back. "For now," Makoto says, standing up, "Let's get you back into the tub." Haru feels himself reaching up without thinking finding his hands clasped behind Makoto's neck, and Makoto hooks his arms under Haru's fin. "You're so dry," Makoto says, laughing. "Aren't you uncomfortable?" Haru reflects on this for a moment. Even out of the water, he still feels safe in Makoto's arms. He shakes his head. He feels fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lost my job and my will to write, but I realized I could put up a chapter since I have almost 10 chapters written already. Consider it a Non-Denominational Winter Holiday gift. :) Sorry, updates will be really, really slow from here on out until I can get on my feet again. Stick with me! I promise this fic will be finished and I will not leave you guys hanging! 
> 
> As always, any thoughts, comments, or mistakes that you caught are completely appreciated. Reach me at keepleaves.tumblr.com if you want to chat.


	6. Makoto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mermay!!

_So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley_

_In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of gold_

_Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?_

_We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold_

_See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley_

_Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth among the fields of gold_

_-Fields of Gold, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner_

"I'm home!" Makoto's excitement makes him yell a little too loudly, voice echoing down the hall. He doesn't bother to put his shoes away neatly, and instead runs into the living room where Haruka is lying on the floor, surrounded by a mass of paper covered in drawings. The TV is on, blaring some children's cartoon, but Haruka only seems to be paying half- attention to it, looking up from the paper he had been concentrating on. Makoto smiles and takes a seat near Haruka, his right pant leg getting soaked from the towel over Haruka's tail instantly.

It had a week since they had settled into their new routine: Makoto would wake up and bring Haruka into the living room, equipped with towels and several tubs full of water to keep his tail moist while he went to work. He was in the process of teaching Haruka how to use something different every day. Day one had been books and pencils, which is how Makoto had discovered that Haruka could read decently well. Writing was a different issue, but Haruka had been practicing every day. Day two had been the TV, which had been a little less successful. Makoto had come home to find the TV extra loud, and Haruka's face two inches from the screen, fingers gently tapping on the glass. Since he had been running late this morning, Makoto didn't quite have time to show Haruka anything new. From the looks of the scattered papers around the merman and the appropriate sound level of the TV, he had kept himself plenty entertained.

"What are you drawing today?" asks Makoto kindly, as he leans over to peek at Haruka's work from today. He can make out the word "water" written over and over several times in disjointed, childish handwriting, and he isn't sure whether he should feel bad that Haruka's longing has filled up an entire page, or laugh because he didn't know what else he should have expected.

Haruka looks up with him, face expressionless as ever. Makoto just smiles back at him. "Just bear with me for a little longer, okay?" Haruka shrugs, and Makoto settles into his seat, his vision focused on the T.V. Quietly, almost to himself, he starts humming the theme song of the children's show on the T.V. only stopping when Haruka taps on his hand delicately with  a finger.

"Hm?" Snapping out of thought, Makoto looks at Haruka, who blinks slowly back at him. "What?"

Haruka opens his mouth, letting another breathy sigh out, before his face curls into frustration. He touches his own throat, breathing again, and then points at Makoto's throat.

"Huh?"

Haruka lets out another frustrated breath, pointing back at his throat with his mouth open. Ever so gently, he places his fingers onto Makoto's throat, peering at him curiously, then points with his other hand almost accusingly at Makoto.

"I— what? Talking?" Haruka shakes his head.

"Ahhh....oh! My humming?" Haruka's face relaxes as he nods. "What about it?" Haru points at himself, then makes a little X with his fingers. "You can't sing?" Haruka nods his head, pointing at the TV. Makoto quickly thinks that the millions of games of charades that Nagisa made him participate in have completely failed him. "You...can't say what's on the TV?"

Haruka holds up one finger. He wants a beat, two, then points at the TV again as the ending credits roll. The smile on his face is enough to tell Makoto everything. "You like the music?"

Haruka curiously tilts his head on the side. "You've never heard of music?" Makoto's expression matches Haru's, a look of wonder and excitement. "Wait here!" He scrambles off for a moment, then returns with a little black rectangle and something round. "Wear it like this," he gestures, putting the headphones on over his ears. Haruka takes them from him, curiosity written all over his face, though it melts into one of bemusement when nothing changes.

"Just a second, hold on!" Makoto fiddles with the controls, and Haruka jumps, hands flying onto the headphones as the music begins to flood through them. As composed as he normally is, Makoto is absolutely delighted to see Haruka as close to slack jawed amazement as possible. Haruka's hands come up again, cupping the earpieces with such a white palmed ferocity Makoto thinks that he'll burst his eardrums if he keeps it up.

"Here," he says, passing on the music player to Haruka, whose delicate fingers ghost over the controls. "Here's how you can see all the pictures on the albums...here's how you pick...you keep this if you want, listen to whatever you want, tell me what you like, then I can find you more like that...." Makoto rambles on, but he doesn't have to look at Haruka to know that Haruka is already engrossed with the technology in his hands. Haruka gently prods him again, having drawn around the music player. _No ocean_ , he scribbles hastily on the paper.

"I...they're not waterproof, yes." Haruka gives him an incredulous look. "Oh! You don't have music?" Makoto laughs off the eye roll that Haruka is threatening him with. "That's so weird! You don't do things like—" He raps the table with his knuckles in a beat. "Nothing like this?"

Haruka shakes his head no. "I'll show you. This is a beat." Makoto peeks at the song playing, then presses an ear to the outside of Haruka's ears, too absorbed in the excitement to feel embarrassed at their closeness. He begins to tap his hands on the table, nodding his head to the beat. Slowly, Haruka mirrors his movements. "See? You got it!" Makoto hums along to the rhythm, making up words as he goes. "Water is nice.... water is our friend..." Haruka nudges him with a disapproving look and Makoto smiles.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Though speaking of water, you're all dried out, aren't you?" Haruka's arms go up automatically, and Makoto smiles at the familiarity of Haruka's arms around his neck. "Back into the tub you go. I wish I could give you a way to go around the house by yourself. It's too bad we don't have a—" he stops halfway down the hall, and Haruka whacks at his thigh fin-first with annoyance. Makoto practically runs down the remainder of the hallway, gently lowering Haruka back into the tub. "Wait here." Makoto is aghast at the stupidity of his statement. Like Haruka can go anywhere else. "I'll be right back."

 

* * *

 

    "A wheelchair?" Makoto can practically hear Rei's eyebrows go up as he shifts the phone between his ear and shoulder. "But why? You're not hurt, are you? If you're hurt, you should go to the hospital, they could give you a checkup and a wheelchair, but only if you really needed—"

    "I'm not hurt!" Makoto cuts him off. "I...Rei, just don't ask, please? I really need a wheelchair." He can't keep the desperation from leaking into his voice, surprising himself. It's true, though, he doesn't need the wheelchair, but he very much wants to show Haru more of the world outside the bathtub.

    There's a silence over the phone, and finally Makoto hears a long suffering sigh. "I suppose I could get you one," Rei starts slowly, and Makoto grins. "But not forever, right? I'll need it back, but I'm not sure when, exactly, because we won't be doing more training for a while, but I'm not sure what kind of tests we'll be doing, if any."

    "Oh, that's right! Your team just helped the rocket Nagisa is supposed to be do a test launch, right? It's only a matter of time before you guys send up Nagisa himself." Makoto's smile fades a little. "I know I haven't been around much to talk to you two, ever since we all went our separate ways, but I was really excited for you both when I saw the news." He tries to keep his tone casual, then as an afterthought, he adds gently, "Are you okay?"

    There's an even longer silence this time, and in his mind's eye, he can see Rei leaning forward on his desk, hands reaching up to fix his glasses before settling on his cheek.

"I suppose," Rei says slowly. "It's always worrisome to be working on something like this, especially when there's people involved," he continues, "and it's even harder when it's someone you know, let alone someone you've known since you went to school together."

    "Of course." Makoto nods sympathetically. This is one of the rare times Rei has talked about the non-technical side of his job, and he's not about to ruin that, partially because he can't understand Rei when he starts off about it ("It's easy to understand if you just tried—" "It's still rocket science, Rei!"), and partially because he's worried, too, about the blond haired, happy-go-lucky boy they both know and love dearly. "I really hope things work out for you both. You're still inseparable after all these years, it wouldn't surprise me to see you both succeeding in the same field together, and on the same project, too."

    "Thank you." Rei simply says, after a moment. "Now, about the wheelchair..."

     Makoto knows the change of subject means the topic is closed. "I'll come by and get it tomorrow?"

    "That should work," Rei responds, and it sounds like there is a frantic flipping of pages on the other end. "Yes, that works out perfectly. Can you come by tomorrow night, maybe? They'll be people around, so less questions for you if you can come later in the day."

    Makoto feels a rush of gratitude towards his friend for upholding their unspoken rule about secrets. "Sounds good. I'll see you then."

    "Good bye, Makoto, and I'll see you tomorrow." Rei says before Makoto hears a click, signaling the end of their call. It takes everything he can to not leap out of his chair and begin yelling. Instead, he all but runs down the hall by the bathroom, stopping right outside the door before gently knocking.

    "Haru?" He slips into the bathroom after peeking inside. Haruka looks up at him, expression unfathomable. "Do you want to come with me tomorrow? Out to the beach?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is...is anybody still here ;___; I know I haven't posted in a while! I got stuck in another fandom, but I swear I haven't forgotten about this and I'm still writing! I wasn't going to post until I had written another chapter, but it's Mermay and I couldn't NOT post! I miss this fandom! 
> 
> As always, any thoughts, comments, mistakes that you caught are completely appreciated. Find me at keepleaves.tumblr.com or @keepleavesp2 on Twitter if you want to chat.


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